Syrian president to ask Moscow to hand over Assad

Al-Shara’a visited Russia for the first time since taking office as Syria’s interim president.

Al-Sharaa will request Russia to hand over former president and close ally of Putin, Bashar al-Assad, during his first visit to Moscow on Wednesday. 

“Shara will ask the Russian president to hand over all war criminals and those living in Russia, especially Bashar al-Assad,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, told AFP. 

Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power on December 8 last year and took refuge in Moscow.

Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that Shara met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday to discuss “bilateral relations between the two countries and regional and international developments of common interest.” 

Al-Shara’s visit took on special significance after Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power and fled to Russia.

“We respect all past agreements and that long friendly history. Now we are trying to restore and redefine that relationship,” Shara said at the meeting.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed al-Sharaa and praised the decades-old ‘special relationship’ between the two countries.